


River of Stars

by tansybells



Series: Flayn Week 2020 [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Childhood Memories, Emotionally Constipated Byleth, Female Friendship, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fishing, Flayn Talks to Hear Herself Speak, Flayn Week (Fire Emblem), Gen, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Spoilers for Flayn's Paralogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25183960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tansybells/pseuds/tansybells
Summary: Rare is it for Flayn to leave the towering walls of Garreg Mach. Even rarer, however, are moments where she escapes Seteth's watchful eye. So when the opportunity arises for a conversation with Byleth as they fish together, she is eager to take the bait.Day One: Fishing
Relationships: Flayn & My Unit | Byleth
Series: Flayn Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1824445
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	River of Stars

Flayn dabbled her feet in the cool ocean water with a happy sigh. It was rare for Seteth to allow her to venture so far away from Garreg Mach, but it was just such a beautiful day that all of the classes had gotten together in favor of taking a brief sojourn to the beach. Originally, Seteth had not wished for her to go at all, but after considering the fact that practically  _ everyone  _ was going—including the newest professor—it had become impossible for him to say no.

But he had only allowed her to go with the caveat that she would stay out of the water itself, as he would be unable to pay full attention to her. Which was alright with Flayn, as she merely wished to fish.

To her joy, Byleth had decided to join her in fishing upon the pier. While the professor was silent for the most part, Flayn was content to have even that little bit of company.

“I used to do this all the time with my mother,” Flayn commented off-handedly, lifting her brows as she glanced sidelong at the professor. Byleth’s eyes did not move from her bobbing lure, however, and since that was not an instruction to stop talking, Flayn continued on.

“Where I… used to live, there were no stores like what we have available here.” She looked over her shoulder to make sure her father was not so close that he could overhear her conversation and scold her for it. It was frowned upon for her to regale anyone with stories of her past, innocuous as they may be, but she was fit to  _ burst  _ with fond memories. 

And it was not as though the death of her mother was any secret! Seteth merely preferred to keep the truth of their relationship as hidden as possible, even in the privacy of their own home. In Flayn’s personal opinion, this was taking things a little too far, but there was little she could do to change his mind. 

It was only when she saw that Seteth was a little preoccupied with dragging Sylvain away from the meager swimsuits worn by several of the more graciously endowed girls, that she continued her tale.

“So, my mother and I would always go down to the coastline and catch some fish for our meals. You would not  _ believe _ the sorts of fish she was able to catch!” She sighed. “Oh, and the  _ stories  _ she would tell as we sat and waited for a fish to bite!”

Byleth remained silent. Flayn found a strange comfort in the silence; it had been far too long since she had been given an opportunity to speak about her mother.

“My favorite was one about a river of stars in the sky,” she continued. “Mother would always say that whenever someone dies, they are returned to the stars. That is where we come from, she told me, and it is there to which we will ultimately return. And when we become part of that river, we are rejoined with the ones who have passed on before us.”

She could not elaborate, of course, nor could she delve deeper into the irrefutable truth that permeated the tale. As her grandmother had come from the stars, so she and the rest of the Nabateans would return.

At least, that was the unspoken hope that Flayn held close to her heart. For if it were not true, how would she ever hope to see her mother again? To see what friends and family had lost their lives during the war a thousand years before? Thanks to her centuries-long sleep, she still felt their deaths as keenly as she had upon witnessing them.

The silence was broken by the splashing of a fish in the water. It did not seem to have taken notice of their bait, but had instead chosen to eat a bug that had alighted upon the water’s surface. Flayn chuckled at the sight. If the fish were becoming hungry, then surely it would not be long before their bait seemed more appealing than the mosquitoes and gnats otherwise available to them.

“It is a comforting story for those of us who have for so long been surrounded by loss and death, is it not?” she said after a moment or two. “I cannot speak for your experience, but as a mercenary, there surely must have experienced such sorrow.”

“Not really.” Flayn’s brows shot up in surprise as Byleth, for the first time since joining her upon the pier, spoke. “I never got attached to anyone long enough to care.”

“Surely there must have been  _ someone, _ ” Flayn persisted. “Someone for whom you cried upon their death.”

Guilt gripped her heart as she realized how doggedly she was pursuing her line of questions. Byleth had undoubtedly been through great trials in her life; she of all people should be sympathetic when it came to the professor’s desire to remain reticent.

“I am sorry,” she hurried to say, “it is not my place to pry. There are certainly times in which it is wise to avoid speaking of one’s own past, and as my brother will attest, I am often incapable of discerning such times.”

The professor’s chuckle, quiet as it was, felt like a gift after such heavy silence. It alighted upon Flayn’s heart like a balm, and she smiled.

Yet before she could complete her apologies, Byleth’s line went taut. The professor’s typically neutral expression tightened; she pulled back on her pole with such strength that the giant, glistening fish that had taken her bait flew into the air with a shower of seawater.

“Professor! You caught one!” Clutching her pole between her knees so that it did not go flying into the water before her should her line also become occupied, Flayn applauded Byleth’s success. “How marvelous! We shall certainly feast well tonight, thanks to your efforts!”

With a faint smile, Byleth cut her line and set the fish aside in the bucket they had brought for just such a purpose. “I think I’ll stick around for a little longer,” she said, blunt but not unkindly. “You can tell me some more of your mom’s stories.”

Flayn gasped in surprise. “Truly?” she asked. “You would ask such a thing of me? If that is so, I would love nothing more!”

As she searched her memory for a fitting tale to tell Byleth, she could not help but feel that a strange sense of peace began to overtake her. The grief for her mother would always be there, as would her desire that they would one day meet again in the river of stars, but in being granted the opportunity to share some of her most precious memories, it was like her mother had never gone at all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blooming_Spiderlily/pseuds/Blooming_Spiderlily) for her quick beta work. 
> 
> I'm so excited for Flayn Week! She was my best girl, even before Hilda, and I'm so glad for the excuse to write some little stories for her. If you're interested, the majority of the works, as well as the prompt list, should be compiled over on the official [Twitter.](https://twitter.com/flaynweek)
> 
> Have a lovely day! ❤︎


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